When Children were Children
The proof of Everlasting Life
By Sharon Hopper 

How about that Easter Bunny? Today he sports dark glasses, dressed to the hilt, and carrying a beautiful basket of not only candy but full of toys too. Wow! Kids sure are spoiled these days. I remember the bunny was just a little old rabbit running around with an old wicker basket full of real hard boiled eggs, some jelly beans, a chocolate bunny and marshmallow chickens. That was about it and sometimes we even had to supply our own basket for him to fill. It was sometimes just an old wicker bread basket filled with that cellophane grass. Today they use plastic eggs filled with small candies for the traditional Easter egg. 

I remember my dad used to eat a lot of the eggs because as children chasing and bouncing the eggs a lot of them got broke. And mother always had deviled eggs or egg salad sandwiches for our supper. 

At any rate we managed to get rid of the couple dozen eggs that we colored in a couple days. And the candy would get put into the refrigerator for a while and after a week or so it too disappeared. I still think my dad was a thief. I remember getting a rabbit fur for a present on Easter and I cried all day long because I though the Easter Bunny had been killed for his fur. My dad had to take me to the store to convince me that it was just fake fur. 

Another part of Easter was the colored chicks that were sold everywhere to give to the children to raise. Now as a child I never got those but my children were the benefactors of my mother’s good wishes and received 3 chicks. I raised them in the house for a few weeks and what a disaster that was. I threatened to shorten her life if she ever did anything like that again. The kids and I drove around the country roads till we saw some chickens and stopped at a house and donated them to a farmer. 

Anyway I just wanted you all to know that I believe in the fun of Easter, but more importantly I believe in the fact that Easter is the proof of everlasting life and that the cross is the true symbol of the day. Happy Easter everyone and keep the memories of all the good things alive in your hearts. Holidays should be full of fun but shared with real meaning. Just think of all the occasions that we have to be happy. Christmas, the birth of Jesus. Thanksgiving, the joy of sharing the crops. Fourth of July, the birth of our nation and the celebration of our Constitution. Memorial Day, acknowledging our war heroes. Mother’s Day, a tribute to mothers. Father’s Day, a tribute to all dads. Labor Day, a tribute to the workers of America, and Easter, the promise of everlasting life. And for some reason many …………………………….. 

By Sharon Hopper